Ckossing for railways



s. MAOFERRAN & s. KNEAS'S.

INTERSEGTING RAILWAY.

No 23,101. Patented- Mar, 1, 1859.

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' SAMLQMAGEERRAN Amos. KN Ass. OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

cnossme Eon RAILWAYS.

Specification ofLetters Patent No. 28,101, dated March 1, 1859*.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL MACFERRAN and STRICKLAND KNEASS, both of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Intersecting Railways; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Our invention consists in the employment of inclined surfaces at the point where two rails intersect each other, the said inclined surfaces being arranged, in respect to the intersectingrails, substantially in the manner set forth hereinafter, for the purpose of preventing the sudden, injurious and inconvenient jars, caused by the ,passage of cars across .the point of intersection of two tracks, constructed in the ordinary manner.

In order to enable others to make and use our invention, we will now proceed to de scribe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification; Figure l, is a plan view, illustrating our improvement, as applied to ordinary city rail ways at the point where two tracks intersect each other at right angles. Fig. 2, is a sectional elevation on the line 1, 2 (Fig. 1).

A, A and A represent one line and A A and A another line of rails, forming an ordinary city railroad track.

B, B and B and B B andB represent two similar lines of rails, forming another track, intersecting the first at right angles.

When tracks cross each other. as illustrated in the drawing, it is necessary that a portion of the rail of One track intervening between the rails of the intersecting track, should be cut away, in order to allow for the free passage of the flanches of the car wheels passing on both tracks. Thus the intervening portions A and A of one track, and the portions B and B of the other track are all cut away at the end to form the req uisite openings for the flanches of the wheels. In consequence of this arrangement, the tread of the wheels passing along either of the tracks must cross the openings formed for the flanches, and a sudden sink-- ing of the wheels must take place, causing a repetition of shocks, which not only injure the cars and incommode the passengers, but cause the rapid destruction and displacement of the rails at the point of intersection,

besides beinga source of annoyance to the inmates of neighboring houses, where the jar of the crossing vehicles is both heard and felt. 1 i

Our invention has been designed for the especial purpose of remedying the above evils.

To the foundation of the track, and at each point of intersection of two rails, we

secure a cast iron plate D, which has four projections, fitting against the four ends of the two intersecting rails, as seen at a, a,

a and a the plate being so constructed as to form a continuation of these rails, which continuation is interrupted at the essential points by openings 6 and e for the passage of the flanges of the wheels. These openlngs consist of two simple recesses, formed in the plate at right angles to each other, the

recesses being deeper at the edge of the plate than at the middle, where they cross each other. At this point the depth of the recess from the upper surface of the railis such, that the periphery of the flanche of the crossing car wheel will bear on the bottom of the recess, while the tread of the wheel is raised the slightest distance above the surface of the rail, thus preventing the tread of the wheel passing over one track, from dropping suddenly at the point where it crosses the recess formed for the passage of the flanches of the wheels, whichpass over theintersecting track. It will thus be seen, that the recesses e and 6 each assume the form of a double inclined plane, best observed on reference to Fig. 2.

Supposing a car to be traversing the track formed by the rails. A, A, and A and A A and A the fianches of the wheels, on entering the recesses 6, will not in the first instance touch the bottom of the recesses, but, as the car proceeds and the treads of the wheels approach the intersecting recess 6, the fianches will gradually approach nearer to the inclined bottom of the recess, and touch and finally bear on the same, raising the tread of the wheel from the surface of the rail, until it has passed the recess 6, af-

ter which, owing to the opposite inclination,

the flanches will gradually leave the bottom of the recess, and the treads of the wheels will take their proper places on the rails. The inclined surfaces of the recesses are so gradual and the raising of the wheels which traverse them so slight, that the crossing of the cars at the points where the rails intersect each other will be scarcely perceptible.

It will thus be seen without further description, that, by our improvements, the above mentioned evils, common to ordinary intersecting railways, must be obviated.

Plates D, of other forms than that shown, may be employed, providing the main feature, namely the inclined surfaces be retained. We wish it to be understood, that we do not claim broadly the application of inclined surfaces on railroads for receiving the fianches of the car wheels. But

SAMUEL MACFERRAN. STRICKLAND KNEAS-S.

, WVitnesses:

AMos STILEs, JOHN H. DYE. 

